Elektro-L No.1 (), also known as Geostationary Operational Meteorological Satellite No.2 or GOMS No.2, is a Russian

geostationary A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit in altitud ...

weather satellite A weather satellite or meteorological satellite is a type of Earth observation satellite that is primarily used to monitor the weather and climate of the Earth. Satellites are mainly of two types: polar orbiting (covering the entire Earth asyn ...

which was launched in 2011. The first Elektro-L spacecraft to fly, it became the first Russian geostationary weather satellite to be launched since Elektro No.1 in 1994.

Spacecraft

Elektro-L No.1 is the first of two Elektro-L satellites that were planned to be launched according to plans at the time (as of 2022, there are 3 Elektro-L satellites launched). It was manufactured by

Lavochkin NPO Lavochkin (, OKB-301, also called Lavochkin Research and Production Association or shortly Lavochkin Association, LA) is a Russian aerospace company. It is a major player in the Russian space program, being the developer and manufacturer of t ...

, based on the

Navigator A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's prim ...

satellite bus A satellite bus (or spacecraft bus) is the main body and structural component of a satellite or spacecraft, in which the payload and all scientific instruments are held. Bus-derived satellites are less customized than specially-produced satelli ...

, and had a mass at launch of . Designed to operate for ten years, the satellite is positioned over the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

at a

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east- west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lett ...

of 76 degrees east. The MSU-GS scanner is the primary instrument aboard the spacecraft. It is designed to produce

visible light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm ...

and

infrared Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...

images of a full disc of the Earth. It can produce an image every half-hour, with the visible light images having a resolution of one kilometre, and the infrared images having a resolution of four kilometres. The satellite also carries GGAK-E, a

heliophysics Heliophysics (from the prefix "wikt:helio-, helio", from Attic Greek ''hḗlios'', meaning Sun, and the noun "physics": the science of matter and energy and their interactions) is the physics of the Sun and its connection with the Solar System. ...

payload designed to study radiation from the

Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

. The satellite will also be used to relay data between Russian weather stations, and will also be used to relay signals as part of the

Cospas-Sarsat The International Cospas-Sarsat Programme is a satellite-aided search and rescue (SAR) initiative. It is organized as a treaty-based, nonprofit, intergovernmental, humanitarian cooperative of 45 nations and agencies (see infobox). It is dedica ...

system. It carries seven infrared channels and three visible channels.

Launch

The launch of Elektro–L No.1 took place at 12:29 UTC on 20 January 2011. The

Zenit-3F The Zenit-3F, Zenit-3SLBF or Zenit-2SB/Fregat was an expendable carrier rocket. It was a member of the Zenit family of rockets, which were designed by Yuzhnoye Design Bureau of Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the ...

carrier rocket A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistag ...

, used to place the satellite into orbit, was making its maiden flight. The rocket consisted of a two-stage Zenit-2SB manufactured by the Ukrainian

Yuzhnoye Design Bureau The ''Pivdenne'' Design Office (), located in Dnipro, Ukraine, is a designer of satellites and rockets, and formerly of Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), established by Mikhail Yangel. During the Soviet era, the bureau's OKB de ...

, and an

NPO Lavochkin NPO Lavochkin (, OKB-301, also called Lavochkin Research and Production Association or shortly Lavochkin Association, LA) is a Russian aerospace company. It is a major player in the Russian space program, being the developer and manufacturer of t ...

-manufactured Fregat-SB upper stage. The launch was also the maiden flight of the Fregat-SB, which was derived from the

Fregat Fregat () is an upper stage developed by NPO Lavochkin for universal compatibility with a wide range of medium- and heavy-lift launch vehicles. Fregat has been used primarily with Soyuz and Zenit rockets, and entered operational service in ...

, but equipped with additional propellant tanks. The satellite separated from the upper stage at 21:28 UTC. The

Russian Federal Space Agency The State Corporation for Space Activities "Roscosmos", commonly known simply as Roscosmos (), is a state corporation of the Russian Federation responsible for space flights, cosmonautics programs, and aerospace research. Originating from ...

confirmed the spacecraft was operational the next day.

Repositioning

On July 13, 2016, after the launch of the second Elektro-L satellite, Elektro-L No. 1 began moving from its previous position over the Indian Ocean at 76° East towards a new location at 14.5° West over the Atlantic. To achieve this, the spacecraft was put into an orbit 289 kilometers higher than its previous geostationary orbit. This caused the spacecraft to drift West relative to the Earth at a rate of 2.03° per day. This shift was expected to take 45 days, however on August 24 and August 30, the spacecraft's orbit was lowered to the point where its drift was 0.09° per day. On September 7 that year, a maneuver brought it to a drift of 0.012° per day. Finally on October 3, mission control announced that the craft had come to its position of 14.5° West, and that the transfer had been completed.

References

{{Use British English, date=January 2014 Spacecraft launched in 2011 Spacecraft launched by Zenit and Energia rockets Weather satellites of Russia Satellites in geostationary orbit

Spacecraft

Launch

Repositioning

See also

References